1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to eyeglass frames and a method for inserting lenses into the eyeglass frames, and in particular to an eyeglass frame and lens insertion method that allows a lens to be easily installed in the eyeglass frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many individuals are required to wear eyeglasses. In the case of prescription eyeglasses, separate lenses are required to be inserted into and retained by an eyeglass frame.
Heretofore, the procedure for inserting and retaining a lens in an eyeglass frame has been problematic to opticians or eye care technicians. First, an eyewire screw needs to be removed to loosen the frame to receive the lens. Typically the frame or eyewire includes two halves separated by spaced opposing ends to allow the frame to be opened, i.e. spread apart, to receive the lens. The opposing ends include bushings to receive the eyewire screw and join the two halves together when tightened by a screwdriver. This retains the lens securely in the frame. Before inserting the screw in the bushings, the outer edge of the lens must be aligned with the inside edge of the frame. Particular attention must be placed to match the curvature of the lens to the curvature of the frame. Typically, the outer edge of the frame and the inside edge of the frame are aligned by any of the known methods. For example, the outer edge of the lens is cut with a "V" shaped bevel, or a "U" shaped groove, and the inside edge of the frame is included with a respective corresponding portion to join therewith.
Once the lens and frame are aligned, the eyewire screw is reinserted into the bushings. Before the screw is tightened, the bushings must be aligned. Otherwise, the male threads of the screw will not fit correctly with the female threads of the bushing.
It has been found that properly aligning the bushings to receive the screw is often problematic. Sometimes, the optician does not align the screw with the hole in the bushing. Oftentimes the lens is oversized (this is very common because an undersized lens can not be made to fit the frame and is wasted, but an oversized lens can always be force fit or cut down if necessary) and thereby, forces the optician to hold the two halves of the frame very tightly and awkwardly. When a high degree of pressure is being applied with one of the optician's hands, it tends to add tension to the other hand and often leads to the screwdriver slipping and possibly injuring the optician.